Even if he had, Alikhan said, he wouldn't be able to comment "because nothing like that would be union-sanctioned."

Whatever the case, the customer line snaked around the building. One unfortunate woman, Maria Tiell, said she stood in line twice, for a total of five hours, before finally being able to take her driver's license renewal exam.

Oakland race: As they round the first turn, Don Perataappears to be several lengths ahead in the race to be Oakland's next mayor.

A just-completed SurveyUSA/KPIX-TV poll of 800 Oakland voters shows the former state Senate president pro tem commanding 41 percent of the first-choice votes - a 15-point lead over his closest competitor, City Councilwoman Jean Quan.

Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplancomes in third with 14 percent. The remaining 10 candidates get a combined total of 12 percent, and 7 percent are undecided.

"If this holds, I don't see how Quan can possibly make up the difference," said David Latterman, whose firm, Fall Line Analytics, specializes in ranked-choice voting.

"Quan's best shot would have been a one-on-one race against Perata in a runoff," Latterman said. "But under ranked-choice voting, that's not going to happen."

Batter up: Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodmanfueled speculation that the Oakland A's might be considering a move to the desert when he laid out plans the other day for a 45,000-seat domed ballpark downtown.

Goodman said at a news conference Friday that talks were already under way with a team.

"I'm not going to tell you that it's imminent," the mayor said, "but I'm going to tell you that the people who are participating in the discussions are very serious."

Team owner Lew Wolff, however, says the A's are holding no such discussions - nor is he interested in moving the club to Las Vegas.

"I can't imagine someone flying there to see Lady Gaga and a baseball game," Wolff said.

Fare fight: Police cracking down on Muni fare evaders got more than they bargained for the other day when they asked a young - and rather large - woman to show her ticket.

The woman was getting off the T-Line on Third Street with a baby stroller when an officer called out to see her stub.

The woman kept walking. When the officer grabbed her by the arm, all hell broke loose, with the woman's brother grabbing one officer to pull him away while the woman herself threw several head punches at the other cop.

The officers eventually got both siblings cuffed and on the ground, only to have the pair's 62-year-old mother jump in and scratch one officer on the face. (She later said she had simply been reaching for the baby carriage.)

All three wound up down at the Bayview police station where several of their friends and relatives soon showed up, wanting to know why police were spending their time on fare evaders instead of "the real bad guys."

Police ended up releasing all three suspects with misdemeanor citations for offenses ranging from fare evasion to assault and resisting arrest.

On the way out, grandma ripped a wanted poster off the wall. No, she wasn't angry.

"Hey, I know where this guy lives," she told the cops, politely providing them with an address.

The man, who was wanted on outstanding warrants for parole violations, was promptly arrested.

Money matters: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom'sorder this week for city departments to hold off on any new spending makes both good fiscal and political sense.

Three rating agencies - Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings - will be in town in the next few days to size up the city's creditworthiness. The last thing the Democratic lieutenant governor nominee needs is a bond downgrade.